Background: Conceptualisations of what it means to use evidence in policymaking often appear divided between two extremes. On the one side are works presenting it as the implementation of research findings - particularly evaluations of intervention effect. In contrast stand theoretically informed works exploring the multiple meanings of evidence…

Despite bipartisan support in Washington, DC, which dates back to the mid-1990s, the "what works" approach has yet to gain broad support among policymakers and practitioners. One way to build such support is to increase the usefulness of program impact evaluations for these groups. We describe three ways to make impact evaluations more…

This paper introduces a model for collaborative working to facilitate knowledge mobilisation in public health. The model has been developed by university researchers who worked collaboratively with public health commissioners and strategic partners to evaluate a portfolio of short-term funded interventions to inform re-commissioning. Within this…

In moving health and social service programs from planning into action, it is essential to understand the extent to which the knowledge gained from research should influence the actions taken by organizations and agencies that provide services (e.g., government, nongovernment organizations [NGOs]). The complexity of the challenges in translating…

A long-held ambition for many educators and assessment experts has been to integrate summative and formative assessments so that data from external assessments used for system monitoring may also be used to shape teaching and learning in classrooms. In turn, classroom-based assessments may provide valuable data for decision makers at school and…

Papers in this collection explore alternative and nontraditional approaches to evaluation. They provide options, speculations, and propositions that affect each thinker's ideas on how to trace the impact of National Science Foundation-supported programs. Organized around a central theme of footprints as evidence of a program's impact, the papers…

In a growing number of countries, government-appointed assessment panels develop ranks on the basis of the quality of scholarly outputs to apportion budgets in recognition of evaluated performance and to justify public funds for future R&D activities. When business and management journals are being grouped in broad quality categories, a recent…

Assessment systems to measure high educational standards emerged as the major theme at the 1996 conference of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), "Moving Up to Complex Assessment." This feature article, providing a summation of the proceedings of the conference, reports that the…

This review offers a general theory of utilization of educational evaluation and considers factors affecting utilization, including evaluation context factors and evaluator-controlled factors. Special challenges in evaluating programs for gifted students and design shortcomings common in evaluation of such programs are identified. Specific…

The concept that classroom teachers have the knowledge, skill, and experience to validate research findings as related to specific objectives and the broader outcomes of education is discussed. Teaching effectiveness is enhanced by matching principles of learning (participation, readiness, comprehension, satisfaction, and retention) with…

Strengths and weaknesses of three types of semiquantitative methods used by the federal government in research impact assessment are presented, and examples of their use are reviewed. These include the classic retrospective method, another retrospective approach, and accomplishments books used by selected research-sponsoring organizations. (SLD)

A useful evaluation of an education program is one that adds to the body of timely, relevant evidence to increase the likelihood that policy decisions improve program performance. This definition focuses on performance rather than change and recognizes that studies can't guarantee the use of their findings but can only increase the likelihood of…

Issues in the impact of educational research on educational policy and practice in Australian schools are addressed in this paper, which provides an overview of the numerous research and evaluation projects being conducted in Australian education. Specific questions examined are the extent to which: (1) the research subjects (schools) benefit from…

The history of research and development (R&D) and its evaluation within the 3M Company are traced as an example of the progression of the use of evaluation and evaluation techniques. Scoring methods, cost-benefit analysis, and risk analysis have been among the most frequently used program evaluation methods. (SLD)

The High Level Seminar on Educational Achievement in Asia and the Pacific was organized in collaboration with the UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand). The objectives were to exchange information and experiences on educational assessment at the primary and secondary school levels; to review major…